WEEK 3 UPDATE
I hope you are doing well and staying healthy. I have been very busy these past few weeks preparing legislation and trying to get bills into committee.
I am working on a bill to protect confidential communication between clients and staff of Domestic and Sexual Violence Programs. Most of our shelters in the state are federally funded and the federal government protects this communication. This bill would align state law and increase security and safety for victims seeking help.
As with many bills, ideas start with a simple idea to solve a problem and that leads to vital research to be sure that the new laws are helping people and reducing harm.
I'm also trying to convince Rep Harris to hear the property tax relief bill for in home caregivers, which saves the state millions of dollars and keeps people in their homes.
I have an introductory hearing on Tuesday to extend the script for prescribed contraception beyond 3 months to 6 months. This is the fourth time we have introduced this bill, so I hope this time I can get it passed, especially since pharmacy lines have been backed up and creating delays in filling prescriptions.
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REMOVING RACE-BASED RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS
S1240 Hearing Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 1:30pm in Senate Judiciary & Rules
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Last week I introduced legislation to allow homeowners or tenants to update housing covenants in compliance with the Fair Housing Act passed in 1968, removing racially restrictive language that denied people of color from purchasing or owning certain property. I wasn't out of the committee room more than a minute and someone in the room shared they saw this same language when they were looking at homes in the Collister neighborhood. Since then, emails are coming and someone even discussed this issue in cemetery plots. I invite you so share your stories via email if you have experience or thoughts about this issue: mwintrow@senate.idaho.gov.
Racial Covenants, Redlining & Intergenerational Wealth in Idaho, courtesy Mckay Cunningham, College of Idaho
During the twentieth century, both redlining and racial covenants were widely used tools to ensure housing disparities based on race. Developers and private land owners embedded racial covenants in property deeds, prohibiting all non-whites from owning, renting, or occupying property – unless doing so as a domestic servant.
Typically, these racial covenants “ran with the land,” a legal term that signifies perpetuity. In other words, the racial covenant was not tied to the original owner of the land. It continued to bind successive owners because it “ran with the land.” The Warm Springs Park subdivision in Boise, for example, includes the covenant above and is tied to all the homes within the subdivision...
Click here to read more from McKay Cunningham, professor of Experiential Learning, College of Idaho, who will testify at our hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 1:30pm in Senate Judiciary and Rules.
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LEGISLATION TO WATCH
 H 436 -- Income Tax Rebate....that no one seems to want except ...
The Senate Local Government & Taxation Committee voted along party lines to approve HB 436, another huge income tax rebate that provides the greatest benefits to wealthier Idahoans. My Democratic colleagues on the committee voted against it because their constituents overwhelmingly opposed the bill and preferred the "excess revenue" be used on investments in our state or PROPERTY TAX relief.
Again, I think we need to rethink our priorities as a state. We should put hard working citizens first, not those in the top 5% of earners in Idaho, who are also calling me asking me to vote against this bill because they prefer to reinvest it in our state educational system among other things. A social worker testified that she is exhausted, constantly by the lack of attention to the hardships lower income people are facing; voting yes on this bill would do nothing but disadvantage their lives even further. We need better education, property tax relief, safer roads, full day kindergarten, and lower grocery tax.
I have received phone calls and emails, from Republicans and Democrats, all of whom request that I vote AGAINST this bill.
 A CONSTITUENT EMAIL HITS THE NAIL ON THE HEAD
"...I am a native of Idaho and a registered Republican. The tax bill you are pushing through is ridiculous. You've underfunded education and infrastructure and ignored multiple other Idaho needs. Giving money back is crazy...You ignore "we the people" when we testify at hearings. We are tired of having school bonds/levies shoved down our throats because of your neglect. Why not adequately fund education, pay off school bonds/supplemental levies, eliminate the grocery tax and fund infrastructure needs. Free up cities and counties so they can make development pay its way. We are getting taxed out of our homes because of laws you pass. You shifted taxes from business and commercial property to residential property several years ago and froze the homeowners exemption. Local governments didn't do that. How about doubling the exemption this year instead of just throwing crumbs to us. We are tired of you ignoring the real issues. It gets worse every year."
 TEACHER HEALTH INSURANCE BILL PASSED THE HOUSE
H443 has passed the House. This is a great bill for teachers, which responds to a significant financial need and will help with retention of our hardworking teachers. It creates a fund for school districts to use on health and dental insurance. This would allow districts to use same plan as state employees, lowering premiums and out-of-pocket costs. Districts would be able to choose a different carrier. A separate appropriations bill would be needed to fill the fund. This represents a substantial improvement for public school employees' benefits.
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THE POWER OF CONSTITUENT INVOLVEMENT!
ADDING SMA TO THE NEWBORN SCREENING PROCESS
Last year, Halely McDonald called me to run legislation to add Spinal Muscular Atrophy, also known as SMA, to Idaho's newborn screening program. SMA impacts about one in 11,000 births in the U.S., according to non-profit Cure SMA. It is a rare, progressive genetic disease that impacts the muscles. Halely's little daughter, Liv, had SMA but went undiagnosed and led to her tragic death at 7 months.
Last year at this time, we invited Halely and DHW staff to present information in Senate Health and Welfare to raise our awareness about SMA and the importance of newborn screening. From there I convened meetings with Halely and Health and Welfare staff and two days before Christmas, they called us with the news: SMA was approved to be placed on the newborn screening list! What a great Christmas present.
Halely had the courage to share her story and continue to revisit these very hard circumstances to help babies and their families in the future. Her involvement changed lives and processes for families in our state. I am so happy and just so honored to have worked with her and the staff at DHW for the past year to finally achieve this milestone.
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IDAHO ACTIVATES CRISIS STANDARDS OF CARE
Idaho has once again activated crisis standards of care in three Idaho health districts: Central District Health, Southwest District Health, and South Central District Health, as the omicron variant of the coronavirus continues to spread and hospitals report severe staffing and blood shortages. Other regions of the state are likely to be added.
Elke Shaw Tulloch, State Health Official Administrator, Division of Public Health, joined our Town Hall this week to share updates on the pandemic and the problem we're still facing. She stressed once again importance of getting vaccinated to not only keep yourself safe, but to protect others and help decrease pressure on health care systems.
For more information, click here.
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Donate today!
Nationwide blood shortage puts Idaho hospitals in dire need.
A national blood shortage caused by a surge in omicron cases has hit Idaho hard, with some hospitals nearly running out of the critical medical resource before they are resupplied, state health officials said Tuesday.
Much of the southern half of the state entered crisis standards of care on January 24, 2022. This is partly because of staff shortages and partly because the inventory of blood products used in transfusions, surgeries and other treatments is running dangerously low. The designation allows hospitals to ration care as needed when they don’t have enough resources for all patients.
Use the Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to schedule your blood or platelet donation appointment.
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I took a great group of Scouts on a tour of the Statehouse.
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Senator Semmelroth surprised me with cupcakes for my BIRTHDAY! Thank you!
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District 19 Virtual Town Hall
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2022 AT 6:00 PM
Hear from your District 19 legislators Senator Melissa Wintrow, Representative Lauren Necochea, and Representative Chris Mathias, on how the 2022 legislative session is going.Please email idahod19democrats@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.
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Local news resources to stay updated on the legislature:
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